"We expect more of ourselves than we have any right to." -- Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr.
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"We expect more of ourselves than we have any right to." -- Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr. |
         
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Alive & Well ArchivesMay 2006**************************************************** TODAY'S QUOTE: “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -Thomas Edison **************************************************** TODAY'S TOPIC: Progress - Not Perfection Do
you strive for perfection? Or do
you recognize the progress you’ve made in life? I
recently visited an organization that helps teenagers recover from drug and
alcohol addiction. On the wall,
there was a large sign that said, “Progress – Not Perfection.”
What a perfect sign! If you
know anyone who has ever been through drug rehab, you know recovering addicts do
not come out of rehab perfect. Instead,
it’s a day-by-day journey of progress. As
I gazed at the sign, I realized it applies not just to recovering addicts, but
also to everyone. It certainly
applies to my clients’ lives and to my own life. Let
me give you an example. A couple of
days ago, I ran in a 10K race. I
had set a goal of 59:59, because I wanted to finish the race in under an hour.
Though I ran hard and felt great about my performance, I crossed the
finish at 61:29. I missed my target
by 1½ minutes! At
first, I felt very disappointed. I
was shooting for “perfection,” and I was not perfect.
In the process, I discounted
the progress I had made. Last year,
I ran the same race in 1:03:22. I
took almost two minutes off my time. I
ran another 10K race two weeks ago and finished in 61:50 (and that was an easier
course). You see, I made progress!
But at first, I didn’t recognize it.
I wanted perfection and not progress.
I felt disappointed. Then I
coached myself and re-framed it, which allowed me to realize I had made a lot of
progress, so I felt good about my race. Next
year, I will shoot for under an hour, but for now, I am proud of myself.
Sometimes
I see clients get frustrated and disappointed, because they don’t recognize
the progress they’ve made. For
example, a client named Judy used to have a hard time asking her customers for
money. She also would discount her
prices significantly, because she didn’t always feel worth her prices.
After working with her on overcoming her fears, she now asks for money
easily and she sticks with her prices. She’ll
occasionally revert back and charge too little, but this is rare.
This used to happen frequently, and now it happens very rarely.
I call that progress! It’s
“Progress – Not Perfection!” “Progress
– Not Perfection” applies to all areas of life.
How often have you seen people go on a diet, lose a few pounds and then
give up because they don’t reach their goals fast enough?
They make “progress,” but because they don’t hit “perfection,”
they quit. How
about you? Where have you made
progress in your life? Be sure to
recognize yourself for that progress even if you are not yet perfect.
If you feel you haven’t made progress, be sure to call me.
I still have some room for group and individual coaching clients.
***************************************************** Coaching
Challenge *****************************************************
Take
a moment to recognize the progress you have made, even if you have not hit your
goal. If you feel you have not made
progress, call me. Then go out there and start achieving your dreams!
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